Notebook



y 13, 1941- R. J. GELINAS 2:242,06 4

NOTEBOOK Filed Jan. 26, 1940 Patented May 1 3, 1941 2,242,064 NOTEBOOK Ralph J. Gelinas, South Weymouth, Mass, as-

signor to Eastern Tablet Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of New York Application January 26, 1940, Serial No. 315,648

2 Claims.

This invention relates to books, and has particular reference to notebooks such as are employed by stenographers.

Among the objects of this invention is the provision of a notebook which may rest flatly upon a desk or other flat surface for the insertion of notes therein, and which may subsequently be placed in an angular position and firmly but removably held therein so that the notes may be easily and conveniently read or transcribed. A

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in, which is illustrated one of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 represents a top plan View of an open notebook showing the leaves partially cut away to expose the lower portion of the cover which would normally be concealed;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the notebook in position for reading the notes or for transcribing; and,

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary views taken respectively along lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

While the invention will be described with particular reference to notebooks adapted for use by stenographers, it will be apparent that it may be employed with advantage in any case in which it is desired temporarily to support pages at an angle with the horizontal, in order to more easily read or employ the information shown thereon, and yet it is important that the pages and the book shall lay substantially fiat when not so supported,

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a notebook having a front cover I, back cover 2 and pages 3, shown as cut away at l2, all joined together by a suitable flexible binding, such as a spiral wire binding 4. A section 5 of the back cover 2 is relieved from the remainder of the cover along three sides thereof, but remains attached without scoring or the like at one side 6. It is usually preferable to apply a strengthening and stiffening means, such as a layer of cloth, over the side 6 prior to reliev ing the member 5, although this is not essential because the absence of a score line or the like at this point produces most of the advantageous effect which will hereinafter be particula'rized, Such a reinforcement is shown at l in the form of an adhered piece of fabric. The front cover I has an opening 8 formed therein, of the proper size and shape for the reception of the free end 8 of the member 5 when the notebook is placed in angular position. This opening 8 may advantageously be formed with the lower portion H] of greater width than the top portion 1 I, so that the end 9 of the member 5, after passing through the portion [0, may be retained by the relatively narrower width of the portion H. To effect this,

' the portion 9 is shown as of greater width than the remainder of the member 5.

In Fig. 2, the notebook is shown placed in angular position so that the pages 3 are presented for convenient reference. In this form, the member 5 is shown bent along the line 6, and with the end 9 engaging the cover I.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the preferred form of tem-' porary connection between the end 9 and the opening 8. The greater width of the end 9 as compared with the rest of the-member 5 serves to retain the cover I at the predetermined distance from cover 2, and yet may easily. be disengaged therefrom and the notebook returned to the horizontal position, the member 5 returning to its original position in the cover 2. The operation of the notebook is clear from the foregoing description. The book is opened and employed in the usual Way for the entry of notes. The absence of elements afiixed to either cover, and projecting therefrom, allows the notebook to lay substantially flat when in a horizontal position. notes, the cover I is turned back, the element 5 is sprung outwardly and downwardly along the line 6, and the end 9 inserted in the Wider por tion III of the opening 8. The member 5 then springs up so that the end 9 engages behind the narrower portion I l of opening 8 to lock the covers against spreading, whereupon the book is in the Fig, 2 position ready for reading or transcription. Reversing the process restores the book to its original position.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the notebook of the present invention is particularly valuable because the member 5 is an integral piece relieved from the cover 2 but located precisely in its plane, rather than being an extraneous member merely attached thereto in a separate plane. This allows the notebook to lie substantially flat upon a surface when notes Then when it is desirable to read the being of the same width throughout except at the 1 end 9, it is of course obvious that this is not essential, and it may be made in any desired form,

the only requirement being that the distance between the line 6 and the terminal portion 9 shall be determined so as to place the leaves at the desired angle when the assembly is in the angular position shown in Fig. 2. The opening 8 may also be made in different forms, the only requirement being that it shall provide a relatively substantial temporary attachment for the end 9 of the memher '5 to hold the two covers apart at the predetermined distance.

Summarizing the advantages of the invention, these consist in a coplanar tongue struck from or relieved from one cover of the book along a line the ends of which are free of any connection by a score line or. the like, whereby a springing action is obtained for the tongue when it is placed in a non-planar position with respect to the cover from which it is struck.

Besides, if the material from which the cover and its integral tongue are made is not springy enough, the strengthening. member 1 serves to increase the stiffness and durability to prevent break down of the hinging region.

The advantage of the coplanar tongue is combined with the feature of the slot on the opposite cover having a narrower part at the top so that the inherent spring of said tongue will cause it to interlock without doing any more than simply Another advantage of the invention is the extreme simplicity. It consists simply in a single operation on each cover so far as the covers themselves are concerned. In the case of the cover 2, it is simply the operation of relieving the tongue, and in the case of the cover I it is the punching operation for the slot 8.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A stenographers notebook comprising relativelystifi' front and back covers with intervening leaves, said covers being hinged together at one of their corresponding ends whereby one cover may befolded back towards the other to assume an easel like position during the transcription of thenotes, said covers also being flat and of uniform thickness to permit easy stacking or storage, one of said covers having a key hole like slot therethrough, said other cover having a tongue out from the integral back along substantially three sides, the fourth side of said tongue bein directly connected in'a uniformmanner with the cover whereby the tongue may be bent out from the body of said cover towards the other, the free end of said tongue having an enlarged end to engage the key hole like slot in the other cover and spring towards the smaller part of said slot due to the natural resiliency of the material thereby to have an interlocking engagement with said slot the other cover.

2. A device 'as set forth in claim 1, including means for reinforcing the connection of the tongue with the cover to inc'rease the durability and stiffness of the material at that point of bend.

J. GELINAS. 

